Pardon

Chapter 9: The ugly truth

Bucky starts walking away from the shelter and you follow. After a while, when you are sure there is no one around anymore, you finally start to explain:

"So... the number I've called... It's something like my emergency contact. Every SHIELD agent always knows a secret number to call if something goes unplanned. No one ever answers, you always get straight to voicemail and leave your info. But there always is someone who immediately listens in. So someone in Washington now knows exactly what's going on. And as they know it's you and me... They're probably gonna send some of the Avengers as backup."

Bucky listens to this as you explain it to him. He seems a little surprised.

"Oh. So any agent could call that number and then they would listen to it? That's neat. I wasn't actually aware of that. But it makes sense..."

"Well... It depends. Not every agent knows about this. Just the ones that get send out on undercover missions do. And... we all have our own personal backup numbers. No one besides me knows that number. So... Even if I call from whatever phone... a payphone... a random farmers phone... they always know it's me. I don't have to give them my name. I mean... That would defeat the whole undercover thing, wouldn't it?"

You chuckle a little.

"That's true", Bucky says. "It's actually a good thing that they set up a specific system like that. So even if Hydra was listening, it wouldn't matter really. That's genius."

"Well... Using your name kinda gave it away, a little. But as Hydra already is on the look out I thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal. So now... We reach Nuremberg, we hide and then we turn on that device on your wrist tonight. That way we don't have to search for the team. They will find us."

Bucky nods.

"Yeah. That's how we should do it. We'll walk until we finally reach Nuremberg and then we'll try to figure out a place for us to hide before we turn that device on. That way the signal can get send to the team without us being in the open."

This whole situation almost made you forget how much you didn't like Bucky but the way he literally just repeated everything you just said and made it sound like it was his idea all along, makes you roll your eyes at him again.

Bucky notices that and it makes him roll his eyes right back at you almost immediately. He laughs and shakes his head at you.

"You are ridiculous, you know that?"

"Whatever."

You shrug him off.

He chuckles and continues to walk for a few more seconds before he stops in his tracks and turns to look at you.

"Just let me ask you one thing real quick."

"What is it this time?"

You let your annoyance show.

Bucky chuckles again, almost being amused by the fact that you're not afraid to show that you're annoyed. He speaks a lot softer than you are used to, though.

"Do you really not like me that much? I mean, you're literally rolling your eyes at me every five seconds."

You stop and shoot him an annoyed look.

"Is that a serious question?"

Bucky keeps his sly smile, actually enjoying this back and forth between you two.

"Come on... I feel like I've asked you some pretty similar question before but I've never gotten a straight answer from you."

His smirk gets a little bigger.